S is for Sidecars (Jennifer)

Hello sweet readers!

Tonight I bring you a recipe not for an entree, dessert, or side dish. Nope, tonight I bring you a recipe for a drink. A sweet, slightly sour, downright delicious cocktail. This drink and I first met on a hot and somewhat humid night way back in May 2010. An exciting family event took the hubs and I all the way down to New Orleans, LA. Folks, if you haven't been to NOLA (as it's affectionately called by some), you really need to make a trip down to tour this beautiful city. I loved every inch of it. We literally walked, ate, and drank it up. The entire city. We had a blast and I'd love to go back again sometime. For now, every time I order a Sidecar, I think back to fond memories I have of this city, of family and big events, and of delicious food and beverages. : )

Sidecar
from Salvatore Calabrese's Classic Cocktails book

Ingredients
3cl/1oz. brandy
2 cl/ 2/3 oz. Cointreau
2 cl/ 2/3 oz. fresh lemon juice

Directions
Pour ingredients into a shaker. Shake sharply. Strain into a sugar-rimmed glass.

  I like to spin the glass rim in the juicer before spinning in the sugar.

 Review:
I'm not so much a cocktail kind of girl. Really, I'm not. I'd much prefer a glass of wine--any kind--to a cocktail, anytime, any day. But, I do have to say, making a cocktail, and a good one at that, is as much an art as it is a science. In the trial run of this blog post, I probably made two or three Sidecars before finally getting the right balance of all three ingredients. When there are only three ingredients, if something is even slightly off or unbalanced, it makes the drink taste awful. However, when all three come together in perfect balance, the drink is smooth, sweet, sour, and delightful. A great way to cool off on a hot summer evening spent at home...

Cheers!
Jennifer